Ferrari 458 Spider Scottish Debut

Scottish Ferrari Owners Club held a remarkable ceremony for introducing the new 485 Spider to the country, with a charity event supported the increasingly popular Hopetoun House Italian Car and Bike Day.

The Scottish Ferrari Owners Club also displayed a number of Ferraris at the event, which completed the club’s tour of the highlands. Members had special permission to visit Royal Yacht Britannia on Saturday 11 August, where they were allowed to go aboard and have a group photo in front of the famous vessel. Aside the new Spider, there were a great number of other Ferrari models present at the event, including the Ferrari California 30 and Ferrari FF. Other Ferraris including the Ferrari F40 and Ferrari 458 Italia were on display, provided by members of the Scottish Ferrari Owners Club.

Can’t imagine how awesome it would be driving the 458 with the top down through the twisty mountain roads of Scottish highlands!

Ferrari 458 Spider:

he Ferrari 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s 570 CV 4,499 cc V8 which was named International Engine of the Year 2011. The power is transferred to the road by Ferrari’s class-leading dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the sophisticated E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS for maximum handling dynamics. The car delivers 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 320 km/h.

Certain features, such as its accelerator pedal mapping and the damping of the multilink suspension, have been calibrated to guarantee maximum sportiness and absolute driving pleasure with the top down, in line with Maranello’s exclusive spider tradition. Even the engine soundtrack has been honed to ensure that the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience.

Entirely in aluminium, the hard-top solution adopted for the Ferrari 458 Spider offers a number of advantages over the traditional folding soft-top, including a reduction of 25 kg in weight compared to Ferrari F430 Spider and a deployment time of just 14 seconds. Fully integrated into the styling of the car, the hard-top was engineered to fit neatly ahead of the engine bay without compromising aerodynamics or the performance of the car. The small space needed to house the roof enables the designers to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the seats.

The rear of the car is characterised by innovative forms with the buttresses designed to optimise the flow of air to the engine intakes and the clutch and gearbox oil radiators. For maximum comfort whilst driving top down the Ferrari 458 Spider features a generously-sized adjustable electric wind stop. The design was perfected to slow and diffuse the air in the cockpit, enabling normal conversation to be held even at speeds over 200 km/h.

New technical solutions adopted for the chassis guarantee identical levels of structural rigidity with the roof up or down. The result is a car that is truly exciting to drive, blending extreme performance with the responsiveness that has always characterised Ferrari’s open-top berlinettas.